The Age of the New Epoch
by Aramaki
Summary: The Second Cataclysm has come and gone. The Nine plot upon their stolen throne of souls, hoping to bring the End foretold to them. Children decide the fate of the world and the world laughs. At the end, is a beginning.  Repost of my Syndicate Wars.


Syndicate Wars

"_Do not be afraid. This is the way of the New Epoch."_

v01.1α - Initialization

Three shots rang out in the semi-deserted Cayman Global Holdings facility, followed by the thump of bodies hitting metal. The rain outside tended to muffle such things, and perhaps the killer in black counted on such a thing. A small figure with short hair looked up at the skylight of the warehouse he was in, cobalt eyes narrowed as he considered his objective.

The figure moved like a wraith through the catwalks and girders of the facility, intent on his target. It seemed like a large cat prowling for prey, even as a simple security patrol ran headlong into him. Up close, it was seen that the killer was at least a good few inches shorter than full-grown men, and he wielded a matte-black assault rifle with frightening precision.

Two of the guards were dead before they raised their weapons and the small figure was barely breathing hard. 'What is that?', they thought, terrified - nothing yet known could take out two men in the blink of an eye and not even twitch. "A-agent!" One of the guards spat out, remembering the rumours that the others had dismissed. They said that Eurocorp couldn't be up to anything good, with all their secret projects. Maybe they were right.

"Yes." The one word said volumes about their fate, as he was a covert operative. Two bullets lodged themselves into the youth's chest - for it was a youth, not a man - and he barely flinched as he drew his pistol. Two reports sounded and the men dropped like dolls with no strings. "Targets eliminated." The high, barely-pubescent voice whispered, letting his newly-minted DART-6 bio-implants stimulate his regeneration after he reached up to pluck the bullets out.

The wraith moved on, scavenging their rifles for ammunition and calmly breaching an automated door that was designed to be impervious to such things. It slid open soundlessly, perceiving the CEO of the Cayman Group to be in front of it as it admitted the small figure into the compound's inner sanctum.

"I don't care what they want, they're not getting it!"

A fist slammed down on a table, harsh voices arguing over a phone as the small boy stepped into the room. He stood silently, unnoticed, as he listened to the conversation.

"No, they can pay as much as they want, but Eurocorp isn't getting anything from me. The Cayman Group will have my head if I even think about selling. And to them, of all people!" The other voice was indistinct, but it -was- a phone handset. The DART-6 set to work splicing itself into the communiqué and perceiving the other speaker as standing opposite the balding fat man in a suit.

"There's nothing you can do, Roberts. They've already won this round. It's only a matter of time." That voice was deep and rich, American-accented with hints of the Midwestern tint to his tone. Clearly the advisor in that relationship. "Let them have it. I need you alive for the next phase of the project, Charles. Charlie. Listen to me."

The young boy walked forward and put a pistol to the back of Charles Roberts' head. "You should have listened." Words echoed in that soft whisper, piercing the communications handset and ringing in Roberts' mind before a shot form the .45-calibre pistol in the boy's hand evacuated it onto Roberts' former desk.

A phone handset shattered, dropping to the floor, as the call was terminated. "Command. This is Ikari. Retrieving the data now." The boy whispered once more, a small stick of a surgical extraction tool in his hand as he jabbed it far into the man's ear - the automated tools cleaving through brain matter and viscera alike to safely collect the biochip the man had been wearing until his sudden death.

"Extraction complete. Thank you for your service, Agent Ikari. A Eurocorp exfiltration vehicle is already on-site. Proceed to the roof."

'That voice...so familiar already.' Ikari Shinji thought to himself, as he walked to the roof access and boarded his VTOL extraction craft. 'It's only been a few years since I heard that voice every day.' Ikari muses, taking a seat and strapping in as the VTOL fires its' engines - unmanned, controlled by his DART-6 implant. 'Tokyo-2. Go.' He instructs, the craft flaring its' wings and darting into the sky as though stung by a hornet.

The city of Tokyo-2 was temporary, but it was the seat of the new Government of Japan. Such as it was. Most regional governments were losing more and more control to the steady encroachment of the nation-corporation. Eurocorp was only one of such corporate endeavours, and one of the few situated in any Asian territory as an outsider.

The majority of Japan was divided into Aspari/West Meld Solutions territory and Cayman Global holdings. Only a tiny sliver of the country had any Eurocorp ties, and it was all in the government's favour. A little power from Eurocorp and they could flex their tiny 'democratic' muscles against the other two syndicates in the area. Though Eurocorp itself only really muscled in a short while ago - after what the historians call the 'Second Cataclysm'.

What they tell the public is that a meteoroid impacted Antarctica and threw the world off its' axis. Most every proper syndicate will tell you that's not true, when you get far enough and kill enough people. The young Ikari certainly knew, but what was an unknown is what actually occurred. The phenomenon was too large and the affected sea was clue enough that it wasn't the case. But the governments of the world had the place under lock and key, sealed off now.

It was just after the Cataclysm that the populace, desperate to escape the horrors of the world falling down around them, turned to the newly-developed Neural Enhancement Overlay Chip. They turned away and let the world burn, lost in their little dream worlds. There were those who held power still, though, and that Cataclysm let them strengthen it. They became the syndicates, along with whispers of a mysterious group that some called the 'Nine' in hushed whispers.

With the NEOC, humanity seemed willing enough to survive. The job of rebuilding the world could be disguised and served up to the chipped populace with a smile, and they'd accept it. That was part of the contract. The young Ikari pondered these and more as the trip to Tokyo-2 continued. His own contract was a bit different. Nobody wanted him. His father left him. Mother, dead. Left like trash with an indifferent aunt and uncle. When the tests at school told them he was something special, they granted Eurocorp permission to take Shinji and use him before their untimely 'accidental' deaths at the hands of an Aspari hit squad.

He, Shinji knew, would serve until his death. Every Agent was prepared for this life. Though he was young still, they took him for his potential. Eurocorp had observed the attrition rate of the implants on older agents, and wished to see if fitting a young agent with a set that were capable of 'growing' with him might lessen the burden on the body. Surprisingly, it was so. Stolen Aspari technology let them engineer such advances, and the irony was not lost on young Shinji. His father's work made him what he was.

When he arrived and disembarked, there were new orders waiting for him. He silently accepted them, packed his meagre belongings and weapons, then set out for the maglev station. They specified that he was to travel by rail, as though Ikari Gendo was ignorant of what his son was and who he worked for.

"Your orders are to report to Tokyo-3 at 1600 hours on Saturday, the Fourteenth of April, 2015. Travel in civilian attire by maglev route 05A. You will be seconded to Captain Katsuragi Misato for the duration of your stay and nominally under the command of Commander Ikari Gendo of UN Special Agency NERV. NERV is an Aspari project, and you will be expected to return with considerable information as to their goals, intent, and technological progress. That is all, Agent Ikari."

Shinji let a smile cross his pale face. His father didn't know what he'd gotten himself into. 'Aspari must have sacrificed an arm and a leg to get this sort of assignment. My superiors would not have agreed otherwise.' The young Agent thought, adjusting the large black coat that hung about his frame as he sat in the train that rocketed its' way down the Japanese countryside - only drawing a few odd looks from the occasional old woman at the tripartite Eurocorp logo on his shoulder. At least...that's what he told himself.

He wasn't to know, however, that this train was taking him towards a meeting with destiny. Destiny with pale-blue hair and eyes to pierce a man's soul. Had the lonely young man known, he likely would have stayed, regardless...what was he, compared to the fate of mankind?

Author's Note: Thus begins my Syndicate/Evangelion crossover. I hope this works, I really do, because I have so many ideas. This is a short introductory chapter, and shouldn't be representative of the work as a whole. Considering I dashed it off at 3 AM without much sleep, anyway. That must be how my brain works.

I also blame EA's new Syndicate reboot. There's too much in there not to use. You'll see Syndicate (2012) references, original Syndicate references, Eva manga, and Syndicate Wars in this - familiarity with it all might be nice.

Please, review if you have the time. I'm greatly looking forward to any and all input regarding this new project of mine. It's been too long since I've written anything.


End file.
